'Through Roses' Tells the Story of a Violinist Who Was Forced to Play in a Concentration Camp

Mar. 28, 2013

Musicians with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, as part of its Principal Players Fund, will work with UT Dallas’ School of Arts and Humanities and The Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies to present Through Roses: A Holocaust Remembrance Concert.

Marc Neikrug's piece tells the story of a Jewish violinist forced to perform in a concentration camp.

“I know of no musical drama that portrays so powerfully the inhumanity of the Holocaust and, paradoxically, the grandeur of the human spirit as does Through Roses. It is a work that anyone who wishes to confront that paradox should experience. To experience it performed by this ensemble of internationally renowned musicians is a remarkable opportunity,” said Dr. Dennis M. Kratz, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.

The music drama by composer Marc Neikrug is based on a story about a musician forced to perform in a concentration camp during World War II.

UT Dallas professor and theater artist Fred Curchack will play the role of the narrator in the music drama.

“I heard a story about a musician who had been forced to perform in a concentration camp. Gradually an idea began to develop: to write a ‘play with music’ in which the protagonist is a violinist who survived the death camps. This gave me the possibility of integrating music that he may have played with music of my own composition,” said Neikrug.

UT Dallas professor of aesthetic studies and theater artist Fred Curchack will play the role of narrator.

“It is a great privilege to perform with such a group of world-class musical virtuosi. Marc Neikrug’s Through Roses is a music-theater work of true genius. Acting in it is technically challenging and it offers a profoundly intense and rewarding emotional journey.”

Fred Curchack,professor of aesthetic studies

“It is a great privilege to perform with such a group of world-class musical virtuosi. Marc Neikrug’s Through Roses is a music-theater work of true genius. Acting in it is technically challenging and it offers a profoundly intense and rewarding emotional journey,” said Curchack.

The concert program includes “The Weeping Shofar” by composer and Southern Methodist University professor Simon Sargon; and “Vitebsk,” Aaron Copland’s musical portrayal of Jewish life in a shtetl, or village.

General admission is $20. The concert is free to UT Dallas students, faculty and staff who present their Comet Cards at the venue box office the night of the event. Discounts are available to UT Dallas alumni and retirees as well as non-UT Dallas students. Click here to purchase tickets online or call the UT Dallas Box Office at 972-883-2552 between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday–Friday.